How the Sampler Built the Sound of 90s Rap
The Golden Age hip-hop era ran on two machines and a crate of dusty records. Here’s how the SP-1200, the MPC, and a handful of obsessive producers built the sound of 90s rap.
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Baywatch TV Show: 9 Wild Facts About the 90s Hit
How a canceled NBC lifeguard drama became the most-watched TV show on Earth, with red swimsuits, slow-motion runs, and 1.1 billion weekly fans.
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On This Day: July 1, 1984 — The PG-13 Rating Is Born
On July 1, 1984, the MPAA created the PG-13 rating after Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom pushed the old PG too far.
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How the Golden Age of Hip-Hop Conquered the 1990s
From The Chronic to Illmatic, the Golden Age of hip-hop turned the 1990s into the most fearless decade rap ever had. Here’s how it happened.
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On This Day: June 30, 1986 — Madonna Drops True Blue
Quick Answer: Madonna True Blue arrived on June 30, 1986, her third studio album and the first record she co-wrote and co-produced top to bottom. It spawned five hit singles — “Live to Tell,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “True Blue,” “Open Your Heart,” and “La Isla Bonita” — hit number one in a record 28 countries,…
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How Old School Hip-Hop Took Over the World, 1979–1989
Old school hip-hop went from Bronx block parties to the Billboard charts in ten short years. Here’s how two turntables and a microphone changed everything.
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Purple Rain Movie: 9 Wild Facts About Prince’s 1984 Hit
The Purple Rain movie made Prince a superstar in 1984. Nine wild facts about the film, the album, Apollonia, and that famous motorcycle.
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Gen Z Found Grunge in the Thrift Aisle and Never Looked Back
The grunge resurgence in 2020s fashion didn’t start on a runway. It started on Depop, in thrift bins, and on TikTok feeds full of Doc Martens and your dad’s old flannel.
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On This Day: June 25, 1982 — Blade Runner and The Thing Open
Quick Answer: On June 25, 1982, two science-fiction movies opened on the same day and both bombed: Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and John Carpenter’s The Thing. Critics shrugged, audiences stayed away, and Steven Spielberg’s E.T. buried them at the box office. Four decades later, both are considered among the greatest sci-fi films ever made —…
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Beach Party Movies: 9 Wild Classics & the 80s Revival
Beach party movies ruled the 1960s with Frankie, Annette, surf rock and Eric Von Zipper. The wild story of all 7 AIP classics and the 1987 revival.
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On This Day: June 24, 1982 — British Airways Flight 9
Quick Answer: On June 24, 1982, British Airways Flight 9 — a Boeing 747 named City of Edinburgh — flew into an invisible cloud of volcanic ash from Indonesia’s Mount Galunggung at 37,000 feet. All four engines flamed out, turning the 250-ton jumbo jet into the world’s largest glider for 16 minutes. Captain Eric Moody…
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Hot Topic Was Right: The Flannel Aisle Never Closed
The fashion press declared grunge dead in 1996. Hot Topic, Dr. Martens, and every suburban mall kept selling it anyway. Here’s how a Seattle look quietly outlasted every trend cycle of the last thirty years and ended up back on the runway in 2024.
